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The science museum is a popular attraction in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Wikimedia

Plans for bigger Hong Kong Science Museum to be finalised by end of the year, government says

  • Leisure and Cultural Services Department says visitor numbers bigger than the venue, opened in 1991, was intended to handle
  • Local councillors welcome plan, but note potential for traffic trouble

Plans to spruce up and expand Hong Kong’s decades-old science museum could be finished by the end of the year as visitor numbers outstrip the volume it was designed to handle, officials said on Thursday.

Chan Shing-wai, assistant director at the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), said more than 1 million people visit the Hong Kong Science Museum in Tsim Sha Tsui each year on average, and officials would talk to the district council and community groups about making it bigger.

Opened in 1991, the museum has long been a popular site for students and families to learn about science through interactive displays and games. The neighbouring Hong Kong Museum of History – which welcomes more than 1.2 million guests on average annually – will also be included in the expansion proposal.

“The number of visitors to the science museum has exceeded what it could handle, as stated in its design plan, made 20 to 30 years ago,” Chan said.

More than 1.2 million visitors made their way to the Hong Kong Science Museum last year. Photo: SCMP Pictures

“We hope to make an initial expansion plan within this year.”

The government already plans to overhaul the museums’ exhibition halls and designs.

A revamp of the science museum’s interior will come in phases between 2019 and 2024. The history museum is expected to be done by 2022. There was no set date for the expansion, which could include building on the adjacent public piazza.

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Chris Ip Ngo-tung, chairman of Yau Tsim Mong District Council, welcomed the plans. He said the museum needed to expand to better serve local residents.

“The place is not large enough, and having a bigger space is good for its future development,” he said.

Another district councillor, Michelle Tang Ming-sum, was also supportive, but was worried about traffic problems, noting that only one road led to the museums’ site.

She called on officials to manage traffic flow as they lay out the plan.

“There are tourist coaches going there and students also go there by coach, so I feel the area is a bit crowded,” she said.

Details of the plan emerged on Thursday as the LCSD rolled out its work plan for the year.

One highlight on the roster was a show called Ancient Treasures of Afghanistan, slated to showcase 231 sets of antiques at the history museum from November 2019 to February 2020.

An ancient crown from the National Museum of Afghanistan is slated to come to the city as part of an exhibition beginning later this year at the history museum. Photo: Handout

An ancient Afghan gold crown worth about HK$90 million (US$11.5 million) and a gold belt worth about HK$100 million will be on display, marking the first collaborative exhibition between the city and the Islamic country’s national museum.

Belinda Wong Sau-lan, the museum’s director, said the exhibition would showcase a unique culture mixing several ancient civilisations and communities in Afghanistan hundreds of years ago.

“Afghanistan is located at the crossroads of the Silk Road,” she said, “It’s a central meeting point of cultural exchanges, so they have a lot of elements of ancient Greece, and Roman and Indian civilisations.”

The antiques, from the National Museum of Afghanistan, are from between 2,000 BC and the first century, she said, and had been under threat during the country’s civil war.

On the performing arts front, the department said it had invited Grammy-winning American pianist Emanuel Ax to perform as part of celebrations to mark 30 years since the opening of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Famous local pianists Colleen Lee and Aristo Sham will also play on the centre’s stage.

The government will also organise a Cantonese opera day and other performances in the city to mark the 10th anniversary of Unesco designating Cantonese opera as a part of the region’s intangible cultural heritage.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Plans to spruce up popular museums
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